Behind the Block Print: The Inspiration Behind White Fir – Tahoe by Craig Mitchell
Every block print begins long before the first line is carved into the block. Behind the Block Print is where I share the true stories behind each image — the places, the moments, and the years of experience that quietly guide my work. See others in this series: Behind the Block Print: The Inspiration Behind Arborglyphs, Behind the Block Print: The Inspiration Behind Sundazed — Lake Tahoe, and Behind the Block Print; The Inspiration Behind Amargosa Valley.
The (Artistic) Problem with Lake Tahoe
An artist need not paint along the shores of Lake Tahoe many times to realize that it's not easy.
The most obvious problem is the immensity of the water in relation to everything else, except perhaps the sky. With this in mind, the choice of location matters. It must have the elements necessary for a dynamic composition. If it focuses too much on the water, it usually falls flat, literally. A single plane covering a large area of any work of art is a risk, and I rarely take it. Instead, I'm always looking for everything else. Often a stretch of shoreline will suffice, or perhaps a focus on the patterns beneath the surface of the water, or a tree, a group of rocks, a jutting peninsula, or a moody sky.
When the Obvious Places Run Out
I reached a point where I felt like I had exhausted my places to go around the lake. Out of frustration and determination, I began conceptualizing paintings before I left the studio, then went to places around the lake where I believed I could bring them to life. Effectively, I temporarily abandoned something that was difficult for something even more difficult. During those years I did some of my best work.
One piece from this period had a tree in snow, high above Lake Tahoe, so that shoreline was not necessary. I sketched it out in pencil, then set out in January to make it work. I ended up on State Route 431, summiting Mount Rose, overlooking the forest near Incline Village. To get to a sufficient tree I strapped on my snowshoes, threw my painting gear into my backpack, and started trekking down from one of the switchbacks.
There, I found the most peaceful place in my world.
The small painting I did that day (a mere 7" x 12") was a gem. As luck would have it, it sold quickly after propping it up on the shelf in my studio to dry — and it went virtually forgotten.
A Print Built from a Memory and a Photo
One morning this winter I thought about it. I visualized it as a block print, mentally arranged the layers and colors, adjusted the design and scale, then went searching through my overwhelming collection of small paintings to find it. A couple of futile hours later I discovered that it had been sold. All I had left was the photo I took of the precious painting before it disappeared.
Recently I've had success working from photos of my own work, so I thought I'd just knock this one out and be on my way to the next.
Not so.
I was working on this print at Christmas, and still working on it in March. I often caught myself complaining, only to realize that I created the puzzle that was nearly defeating me. And this is the artist's dilemma. Without a puzzle to solve, we have no need to proceed. But without solving it, we have nothing to share with the world.
It's the magic and the poison.
So here is the fruit of those efforts, finally.
What This Print Taught Me
White Fir – Tahoe reinforced something I've come to accept over decades of working as a Nevada landscape artist: the hardest prints are almost always the most honest ones. When the process resists you — when Christmas becomes March and the puzzle refuses to yield — something is happening beneath the surface. The work is becoming more than you planned.
I didn't set out to make a difficult print. I set out to revisit a quiet morning on a snowy slope above Incline Village. But the difficulty was the point. Lake Tahoe landscape art that comes too easily tends to look like it. This one didn't come easily, and I believe that shows — in the right way.
About White Fir – Tahoe
White Fir – Tahoe is a hand-carved, hand-pulled Lake Tahoe block print by Craig Mitchell, a Nevada landscape artist based in Reno. The image originates from a plein air painting made in winter on the slopes of Mount Rose, high above Incline Village — where the shoreline disappears entirely and the Sierra forest takes over.
The print is produced in a limited edition, hand-pulled in Craig's Reno studio, and printed on archival cotton paper. It is available framed with conservation-grade materials and ships ready to hang within 24 hours.